Distribution And Breeding Behaviour Of Brahminy Kite (Haliastur Indus) On Penang Island And Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve, Kuala Sepetang, Perak

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Date
2011-03
Authors
Indrayanto, Patricia
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Publisher
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus) or Helang Merah is known as a totally protected bird in Peninsular Malaysia. Department of Wildlife and National Parks (1992) reported that their numbers are decreasing due to the destruction of their native habitat. For ensuring good management conservation of this species in Malaysia, the distribution, nest-site selection, and behaviors of Braminy Kite in both disturbed and less disturbed area should be studied. For this purposes nesting surveys were conducted in disturbed area (Penang Island) and in less disturbed area (Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve, Kuala Sepetang, Perak). The surveys were performed during the breeding season, and. the microhabitat parameters such as latitude, longitude, nest height, tree height, tree at elevation and Girth at Breast Height (GBH) were recorded. Land use map were made to identify the nesting distribution by using remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS). Macrohabitat data i.e, the distances of the nests to water, to road, and to built environment were calculated by using GIS. The microhabitats and macrohabitats data were then evaluated by using Mann-Whitney U-test and Principal Component Analysis (PCA), whilst the breeding behaviors were collected by using focal animal sampling. On Penang Island, Brahminy Kite nests were located in several land use activities, such as on mangroves, coastal area, and near human habitation, while in Kuala Sepetang, Perak the nests were located only in mangrove forest. PCA analysis showed that nests in Kuala Sepetang, Perak relatively have similar characteristics, whilst on Penang Island their characteristics were relatively different. Mann-Whitney U-test of the nests on Penang Island and Kuala Sepetang, Perak, was significantly different (p<0.05). PCA analysis also demonstrated that the nest site-selection of Brahminy Kite depended on three major variables, namely, distance to water, distance to main road, distance to built environment, and three minor variables i.e. tree height, nest height, and tree at elevation. Breeding behaviors of Brahminy Kite pairs on Penang Island were relatively similar to the kites that lived in New South Wales, Australia and Tamil Nadu, India. Both female and male shared efforts in building nest, incubation, and guard the nest. The female did most of the incubation and feeding activities, while the male did most of the caring of the nest and delivery preys.
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Of Brahminy Kite (Haliastur Indus) , Penang Island
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